Socioeconomic and Demographic Determinants of Indigenous Chicken Rearing in Coastal Communities of Bangladesh

Abstract

Indigenous chicken rearing is an important part of rural livelihoods in Bangladesh, especially in economically challenged areas where it provides a primary source of income, nutrition, and employment opportunities for the poor people, especially for women. The purpose of this study is to investigate the socio-demographic characteristics, management practices, consumption and income, gender participation, and factors influencing income from indigenous chicken rearing using a household-level survey in Bagerhat district, located in the coastal region. A mixed-method survey, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data, was conducted among 488 randomly selected households from five villages in Bagerhat Sadar and Kachua Upazilas.The findings reveal that rural women play a crucial role in indigenous chicken rearing, as the majority of respondents were female (89.57%). The majority of the respondents were younger and middle-aged, and the mean age was 39.86±1.89 years. Most of the farmers completed the primary level of education (55.62%), as evidenced by their mean educational year was 6.95±0.65. The flock size was small (98.96%) and management practices are largely traditional with semi-intensive rearing (97.95%) using basic housing, and 88.00% depending on rice or rice bran, followed by household by-products (12.00%) for feed. However, vaccination coverage remains critically low at 11.00%. Households consumed an average of 149.76 eggs and 23.04 kg of chicken meat per year, while income from eggs and live bird sales averaged BDT 13136 and BDT 26288 annually, confirming that indigenous chicken has a dual role in nutrition and cash income generation. Women contributed most labour of husbandry activities (80–90%) and yet men controlled ownership, sales decisions, and retained income in most cases. Regression analysis identified flock size, farmer experience, vaccination, and rearing system as significant positive determinants of income from indigenous chicken rearing.